Private cellular network for acquisition and exchange of location data with emergency call centers

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to acquisition and exchange of location data with an emergency call center using a private cellular network. A private cellular network includes a location engine configured to store specific location information of user equipment connected to the private cellular network via an access point; and at least one network element configured to receive a request for placing an emergency call from an endpoint communicatively coupled to the private cellular network; determine endpoint specific location information for the endpoint by communicating with the location engine of the private cellular network that identifies location of the endpoint within a confined space in which the private cellular network is deployed; and send the endpoint specific location information of the endpoint to an emergency service provider for dispatching to a location of the endpoint based at least in part on the endpoint specific location information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 63/072,739, filed on Aug. 31, 2020 and titled “PRIVATE CELLULARNETWORK FOR ACQUISITION AND EXCHANGE OF LOCATION DATA WITH EMERGENCYCALL CENTERS,” the entire content of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to operation of a private cellularnetwork and more specifically to use of a private cellular network toacquire detailed location information to be exchanged with an emergencycall center for addressing underlying emergency incidents faster andmore efficiently.

Description of the Related Art

Various generations of wireless technologies and supporting networkshave been designed, standardized, implemented and used globally toservice millions/billions of end users. These wireless networks haveevolved from analog to digital radio access systems, from circuitswitching to packet core, from proprietary mobility and administrativeprotocols to standardized protocols, and from single provider to multiprovider networks.

Wireless connectivity through cellular networks provides severaladvantages over wireless connectivity through Wi-Fi, such as fasterspeed, security and longer coverage range to name a few. As wirelesstechnologies evolve and connectivity capabilities of mobile devices andInternet of Things (IoT) devices increase, many established and largecellular wireless service providers (mobile network operators) areunable to meet the increased demand. Use of private cellular networks inareas and locations where providing wireless services are impossible oreconomically not feasible for the larger cellular wireless serviceproviders, can address the gap to meet the increased demand.

SUMMARY

One or more example embodiments of inventive concepts are directed tousing private cellular networks and the infrastructure thereof to obtainmore accurate location information associated with a request foremergency services and communicating the same with an emergency callcenter. Such a request may be made via an endpoint connected to aprivate cellular network within a confined geographical space. In oneexample, the use of a private cellular network in a confined space canallow for more accurate determination of the location of an emergencyincident within the confined space and communication of the same to anemergency call center. Providing the emergency call center with detailedinformation on the location of the incident inside the confined space(compared to information on approximate location of the confined spacecurrently provided to emergency call centers) can allow an emergencyservice provider to reach the incident location faster to attend to theunderlying emergency situation potentially eliminating or reducing humanand financial costs of the emergency incident.

a private cellular network includes a location engine configured tostore thereon one or more database that include specific locationinformation of one or more user equipment connected to the privatecellular network via a corresponding access point associated with theprivate cellular network; and at least one network element configured toreceive a request for placing an emergency call from an endpointcommunicatively coupled to the private cellular network; determineendpoint specific location information for the endpoint by communicatingwith the location engine of the private cellular network, the endpointspecific location information identifying location of the endpointwithin a confined space in which the private cellular network isdeployed; and send the endpoint specific location information of theendpoint to an emergency service provider, the emergency serviceprovider identifying which response team to dispatch to a location ofthe endpoint based at least in part on the endpoint specific locationinformation.

In another aspect, the endpoint specific location informationcorresponds to an access point of the private cellular network to whichthe endpoint is communicatively coupled.

In another aspect, the endpoint specific location information identifiesat least one of a building, a floor of the building and a room numberinside the building in which the endpoint is located.

In another aspect, the endpoint specific location information identifiesa latitude, a longitude, and a height above ground of the location ofthe endpoint within the confined space.

In another aspect, the location engine includes a first database and asecond database, the first database including location information ofeach access point associated with the private cellular network, thesecond database including information on association between one or moreaccess points of the private cellular network and one or more usersconnected to the one or more access points.

In another aspect, the first database is populated at least in partusing cell location data collected by a platform node associated withthe private cellular network.

In another aspect, the cell location data are collected from at leastone of an external cell database that includes information on locationof access points and a spectrum allocation server (SAS) database.

In another aspect, the second database is populated every time an edgecore router of the private cellular network records a connection logthat identifies a UE in association with an access point.

In another aspect, the location engine is queries by one of a mobilitymanagement entity (MME) of an evolved packet core of the privatecellular network or a component of an emergency network.

In another aspect, the location engine is queried via an applicationprogramming interface (API) call to a programmatic interface of thelocation engine.

In one aspect, a system includes a private cellular networkcommunicatively coupled to an emergency service provider, the privatecellular network having a location engine configured to store thereonone or more database that include specific location information of oneor more user equipment connected to the private cellular network via acorresponding access point associated with the private cellular network,the specific location information identifying a location of acorresponding user equipment within a confined space in which theprivate cellular network is deployed, the specific location information,when provided to an emergency service provider enables the emergencyservice provider to specifically locate the corresponding user equipmentwithin the confined space and provide requested emergency response to auser of the corresponding user equipment. The system also includes atleast one network element configured to determine endpoint specificlocation information for an endpoint from which an emergency callrequest is received, the endpoint specific location information beingdetermined by communicating with the location engine of the privatecellular network; and send the endpoint specific location information ofthe endpoint to the emergency service provider.

In another aspect, the endpoint specific location informationcorresponds to an access point of the private cellular network to whichthe endpoint is communicatively coupled.

In another aspect, the endpoint specific location information identifiesat least one of a building, a floor of the building and a room numberinside the building in which the endpoint is located.

In another aspect, the endpoint specific location information identifiesa latitude, a longitude, and a height above ground of the location ofthe endpoint within the confined space.

In another aspect, the location engine includes a first database and asecond database, the first database including location information ofeach access point associated with the private cellular network, thesecond database including information on association between one or moreaccess points of the private cellular network and one or more usersconnected to the one or more access points.

In another aspect, the first database is populated at least in partusing cell location data collected by a platform node associated withthe private cellular network.

In another aspect, the cell location data are collected from at leastone of an external cell database that includes information on locationof access points and a spectrum allocation server (SAS) database.

In another aspect, the second database is populated every time an edgecore router of the private cellular network records a connection logthat identifies a UE in association with an access point.

In another aspect, emergency call request is received at an edge corerouter of the private cellular network, and the at least one networkelement is one of a mobility management entity (MME) of an evolvedpacket core of the private cellular network or a component of anemergency network.

In another aspect, the location engine is queried via an applicationprogramming interface (API) call to a programmatic interface of thelocation engine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of systems,methods, and embodiments of various other aspects of the disclosure. Anyperson with ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that theillustrated element boundaries (e.g. boxes, groups of boxes, or othershapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. It maybe that in some examples one element may be designed as multipleelements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. Insome examples, an element shown as an internal component of one elementmay be implemented as an external component in another, and vice versa.Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale. Non-limiting andnon-exhaustive descriptions are described with reference to thefollowing drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily toscale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of a private cellular network ecosystem,according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an overview of an edge site component of a privatecellular network deployed at an edge site, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates details of cloud and site components of ecosystem ofa private cellular network, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a visual representation of an example traffic routing via corerouter of a private cellular network, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a visual representation of an example traffic routing via corerouter of a private cellular network, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a visual representation of an example traffic routing via corerouter of a private cellular network, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a path taken between a UE placing an emergency calland an emergency service provider, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an ecosystem of a private cellular networkinterconnected with emergency call servicers, according to an aspect ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a method of acquisition and exchange of location datawith an emergency call center using a private cellular network,according to an aspect of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate systems according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific details are provided in the following description to provide athorough understanding of embodiments. However, it will be understood byone of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. For example, systems may be shown inblock diagrams so as not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessarydetail. In other instances, well-known processes, structures andtechniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring embodiments.

Although a flow chart may describe the operations as a sequentialprocess, many of the operations may be performed in parallel,concurrently or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operationsmay be re-arranged. A process may be terminated when its operations arecompleted, but may also have additional steps not included in thefigure. A process may correspond to a method, function, procedure,subroutine, subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function,its termination may correspond to a return of the function to thecalling function or the main function.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike numerals represent like elements throughout the several figures,and in which example embodiments are shown. Example embodiments of theclaims may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Theexamples set forth herein are non-limiting examples and are merelyexamples among other possible examples.

As noted above, one or more example embodiments of inventive conceptsare directed to using private cellular networks and the infrastructurethereof to obtain more accurate location information associated with arequest for emergency services and communicating the same with anemergency call center. Such a request may be made via an endpointconnected to a private cellular network within a confined geographicalspace. In one example, the use of a private cellular network in aconfined space can allow for more accurate determination of the locationof an emergency incident within the confined space and communication ofthe same to an emergency call center. Providing the emergency callcenter with detailed information on the location of the incident insidethe confined space (compared to information on approximate location ofthe confined space currently provided to emergency call centers) canallow an emergency service provider to reach the incident locationfaster to attend to the underlying emergency situation potentiallyeliminating or reducing human and financial costs of the emergencyincident.

The disclosure begins with a description of an example private cellularnetwork infrastructure and various non-limiting example implementationsand operations thereof with reference to FIGS. 1-6. Thereafter, severalexamples of using a private cellular network for providing endpointspecific location information associated with an emergency incidentinside a confined location will be described with reference to FIGS.7-9. The disclosure concludes with a discussion of example systemcomponents with reference to FIGS. 10A-10B.

A private cellular network within the context of the present disclosureis an ecosystem comprised of a backend component (a cloud component) anda site component. A site component may be comprised of speciallyconfigured hardware components installed at a site to provide cellularnetwork (voice and data) connectivity to endpoints connected thereto.

A site component can be comprised of a number (e.g., ranging from singledigit numbers to hundreds or thousands) of radio access components(e.g., small cell radio components that provide network connectivitysuch as LTE small cells, 5G access nodes, etc.) that are deployed over alimited geographical area (e.g., a building, a factory floor, aneighborhood, a shopping mall, etc.) and operate over a spectrumavailable for private use. The site component further includes known orto be developed radio equipment such as routers and core networkcomponents (Evolved Packet Core (EPC) components). EPC components can be4G/LTE EPC components and/or 5G EPC components/functionalities.

For example, 4G/LTE EPC components include, but are not limited to, aServing GPRS Support Node (SGSN), Gateway GPRS Support Node (GPRS)Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), HomeSubscriber Server (HHS), a Serving Gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data NetworkGateway (PDN-GW), a Policy & Charging Rules Function (PCRF).

In another example, 5G EPC components include, but are not limited to, aAuthentication Server Function (AUSF), a Core Access and MobilityManagement Function (AMF), a Data network (DN), a Structured DataStorage network function (SDSF), an Unstructured Data Storage networkfunction (UDSF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a NF RepositoryFunction (NRF), a Policy Control function (PCF), a Session ManagementFunction (SMF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a User plane Function(UPF), an Application Function (AF), etc. Components of a 5G core can bereferred to as functionalities as most are software based and can beadapted according to need and use case.

The site component can also include IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) fordelivering IP multimedia services such as Voice over LTE (Vo-LTE)through IMS core. IMS core can handle IMS functionalities including, butnot limited to, subscriber management, session setup and policy andcharging enforcement, maintaining Quality of Service (QoS) and seamlessinterfacing between IMS Application Servers and the EPC.

The backend (cloud) component may provide one or more EPCfunctionalities (e.g., HSS services), manage interfacing andcommunication of the private cellular network with MNOs, allow mobilityamong users of the private cellular network by enabling them to movebetween multiple site components and still access their home sitecomponent, etc. Services provided by the backend component may be sharedby/segmented for use by multiple private cellular networks that functionindependently as they may have been deployed at different sites andoperated by different/independent enterprises. Additionally, the backendcomponent may include networking and management tools (Network as aService (NaaS)) built and deployed over network components (e.g., NaaSdeveloped by Geoverse LLC of Seattle, Wash.) that are trusted byoperators of the private cellular networks and various mobile networkoperators (MNOs) that, as will be described below, have suboptimalcoverage in these confined geographical locations and thus have theirendpoints and subscribers roam on such private cellular networks.

Such ecosystems, as described above, offer a fully interconnectedprivate cellular network with a number of significant advantages toenterprises and MNOs. These ecosystems are flexible and scalable andeliminate costs and complexities associated with enterprises having todevelop their own private network capabilities and/or costs andcomplexities associated with MNOs having to expand their networkinfrastructure and services to provide cellular connectivity to theirsubscribers and endpoints.

A fully integrated ecosystem described above provides premiumconnectivity services to both home and guest (roaming) devices coupledwith various analytical features such as end user experience, serviceusages, indoor location determination and indoor mapping as well ascapacity monetization including, but not limited to, potential sale ofexcess capacity to mobile operators and others.

Premium connectivity services include, but are not limited to,Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) subscriptions, shared data bundles,private cellular (LTE) voice, edge computing capabilities, etc. home andguest (roaming) devices include, but are not limited to, bridges,gateways, modems, push-to-talk devices, smartphones, tablets, laptops,Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as facility management devices,HVAC control devices, security monitoring devices, point of saledevices, sensors for maintenance, asset tracking, etc., robotics andautonomous vehicles, etc.

Cellular connectivity and services may be provided to guest devices bythe private cellular network where the cellular connectivity services ofthe devices' home networks may be sub-optimal/less than a thresholdlevel of service. Such threshold level of service may be a configurableparameter determined based on experiments and/or empirical studies. Forexample, when cellular data services offered by a home network is lessthan a threshold download/upload speed (in mbps) or such services ofslower than same services provided by private cellular network by morethan a threshold percentage (e.g., slower by more than 5%, 10%, 20%,etc.), private cellular network may be utilized to provide bettercellular voice and data services to end users and thus improve end userexperience. In addition to download/upload speed, other examples of suchthresholds include signal strength (received signal strength indicator),signal quality measurement(s), etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of a private cellular network ecosystem,according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In ecosystem 100, oneor more Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) 102 may interface with privatecellular network of the present disclosure, which is comprised of acloud based backend component 104 and site component 106.

MNOs 102 may include, but are not limited to, known operators ofcellular networks such as AT&T®, Verizon®, T-Mobile®, Sprint®, CharterSpectrum®, Xfinity Mobile®, Vodafone® and/or any other known or to beestablished MNO. In one example, MNOs 102 may have a number ofsubscribers that may visit site component 106, in which thecorresponding MNO(s) may not have sufficient wireless coverage andservices available to their subscribers. As will be described below,these subscribers may roam on private cellular network at site component106 when a roaming agreement is in place and is active between providerof the private cellular network at a site and roaming subscribers'respective MNOs.

Use of the private cellular network described in the present applicationis not limited to MNO subscribers with home MNOs having an activeroaming arrangement in place with the provider of the private cellularnetwork. For example, the private cellular network may be accessed byany mobile device having a dual-SIM capabilities with one SIM card beingregistered with their home MNO (cellular service provider) and anotherSIM card registered with the private cellular network. Another exampleuse of private cellular network may be as part of a Multi-Operator CoreNetwork (MOCN) structure, where one or more MNOs and private cellularnetwork of the present disclosure may share the network infrastructure(e.g., edge or metro core router, as will be described below) of theprivate cellular network for servicing their subscribers.

Backend component 104 may include, but is not limited to, Multi-ProtocolLabel Switching (MPLS) cloud 108 on which one or more EPCs 110 of theprivate cellular network (e.g., located in different physicallocations/cities) are accessible. Various known, or to be developed,cloud services 112 as well as the Internet 114 are also accessible viacloud 108.

Site component 106 of FIG. 1 includes two non-limiting examples of ametro site and an edge site. As noted above, a site component mayinclude specially configured hardware components that provide networkconnectivity (cellular voice and data) to connected endpoints.

A metro site component may be deployed in a metropolitan area such thatthe private cellular network can encompass several/independent confinedgeographical areas such as a shopping mall comprised of multipleindependent stores and locations, one or more blocks of a city, anentire university campus, etc. In FIG. 1, an example metro site iscomprised of sites 116 and 118. Example site 116 can be an open airstrip mall while example site 118 can be a closed building such asshopping mall. Access points 120 may be installed throughout sites 116and 118 and communicate via Internet 122 (e.g., over known or to bedeveloped Virtual Private Network (VPN) and IP security (IPSec)connections and protocols) with a private cellular edge formed of ametro core router 124 and a metro EPC 126. Metro core router 124 may beconnected to MPLS cloud 108 and cloud backend component 104 via anyknown or to be developed wired and/or wireless connection (e.g., a 1G ora 10G connection).

An edge site component may be deployed in a single location providingcellular connectivity to users of and roamers associated with a singleentity (e.g., a single corporation or business entity) and covers aconfined geographical area that is smaller and more limited compared toa metro site. Another distinction between an edge site component and ametro site component is that each edge site is equipped with a dedicatededge core router and edge EPC (serving a single entity or enterprisenetwork of a corporation, etc.) while several components of a metro sitecomponent may be shared by connected endpoints of several differententities as they share the same metro core router and metro EPC asdescribed above.

Example edge sites component 128 of FIG. 1 may be at a factory site witha dedicated edge core router 130 and a dedicated edge EPC 132. Edge sitecomponent 128 may also have one or more access points 134 installedthroughout the site and communicatively connected to edge core router130 and edge EPC 132.

Example edge site component 136 may be a building with a dedicated edgecore router 138 and a dedicated edge EPC 140. Edge site component 136may also have one or more access points 142 installed throughout thesite and communicatively connected to edge core router 138 and edge EPC140.

Each of edge core routers 130 and 138 may be communicatively connectedto MPLS cloud 108 and cloud backend component 104 via known or to bedeveloped connections such as a VPN connection, a wired 1G/10Gconnection, etc.

Edge core routers 130, 138 a metro core router 124 may also be referredto as proxy routers.

FIG. 2 illustrates an overview of an edge site component of a privatecellular network deployed at an edge site, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. Edge site component 200 of FIG. 2 may be the same asedge site component 136 of FIG. 1 with a dedicated edge core router 202and a dedicated edge EPC 204 that may be the same as dedicated edge corerouter 138 and edge EPC 140, respectively. An enterprise network may bedeployed in a building (edge site/customer site) 206 or a portionthereof occupied by an organization, entity, etc., Such enterprisenetwork may be coupled to edge site component 200 so that edge sitecomponent 200 can provide private cellular network connectivity toendpoint devices of the enterprise network and/or any one or moreexternal devices (not registered or part of enterprise network) presentat edge site 206 and for which their corresponding MNO has an agreementin place with operator of edge site component 200 or otherwise isconsidered a valid UE/data source as described above and will bedescribed further below.

The enterprise network may have one or more enterprise specificendpoints such as Private Branch Exchange (PBX) devices 208. PBX devices208 may form a private telephone network of an organization associatedwith the enterprise network at edge site 200. Other examples ofenterprise specific endpoints include, but are not limited to, mobiledevice 210, one or IoT devices (not shown), tablets, laptops, desktops,switches, routers, etc. (not show).

In example of FIG. 2, mobile device 210 may be a device registered withthe enterprise network and the private cellular network provider.Accordingly, mobile device 210 may be provided with a SIM cardregistered with the private cellular network provided via edge sitecomponent 200. Mobile device 210 may be referred to as home mobiledevice 210 for which the private cellular network deployed at edge site200 serves as the primary cellular service provider. Accordingly, mobiledevice 210 may connect to edge core router 202 and subsequently to therest of the private cellular network to receive voice (e.g., LTE/5Gquality voice (VoLTE)) and cellular data services. Furthermore, any oneor more roaming/guest devices may roam on the private cellular networkprovided via edge site component 200, as will be described above. Suchroaming/guest devices may not have a SIM card registered with privatecellular network provided by edge site component 200 and instead may beregistered with one or more of MNOs described above with reference toFIG. 1, serving as corresponding home cellular network providers of theroaming/guest devices.

Also, shown in FIG. 2 is an example of another home mobile device 212that is registered with the private cellular network deployed via edgesite component 200. However, mobile device 212 may be located outsidebuilding/site 206 such that mobile device 212 no longer falls withinfootprint/coverage area of the deployed private cellular network. Mobiledevice 212 can fall within the footprint of a cellular base 214 (e.g.,LTE base station, eNode-B, etc.) of an MNO, examples of which aredescribed above with reference to FIG. 1. Mobile device 212 can thenconnect to cellular base 214 and to edge EPC 204 to receive cellularvoice and data services.

FIG. 3 illustrates details of cloud and site components of ecosystem ofa private cellular network, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 as well,ecosystem 300 is comprised of backend component 302 and site component304, which may be the same as backend component 104 and site component106 of FIG. 1, respectively. Backend component (cloud component) 302 andsite component 304 may form a private cellular network configured toprovide cellular voice and data services to one or more home devices ofan enterprise network (at a customer site) that is communicativelycoupled to site component 304.

In addition to backend component 302 and site component 304, FIG. 3 alsoillustrates, in general, components of MNOs and an example enterprisenetwork communicatively coupled to cloud component 302 and sitecomponent 304, respectively, and will be further described below.

Site component 304 may have one or more access points 306 (e.g., aCitizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) access point) coupled to an edgecore router 308, all of which may be deployed at a customer site, whichcan be the same as edge site 206 of FIG. 2.

Edge core router 308, as will be described below, is a speciallyconfigured router for managing network traffic (inbound and outbound) toand from connected endpoints such as endpoints 309, 310 and 311 (each ofwhich may also be referred to as a user equipment (UE)). A number of UEsconnected to private cellular network at the customer site is notlimited to 3 and can be more or less.

UEs 309, 310 and 311 can be any one of, but not limited to, a mobiledevice, a tablet, a laptop, an Internet of Things (IoT), a sensor, etc.In other words, UEs 309, 310 and 311 can be any device capable ofestablishing a wireless/cellular connection to nearby device.

As will be further described below, any number of UEs may be registeredwith enterprise network 313. Furthermore, one or more of UEs 309, 310and 311 may be roaming devices that are not registered with enterprisenetwork 313 but instead are associated with MNOs that have roamingagreements in place with provider of private cellular network at thecustomer site and hence are allowed to roam on the private cellularnetwork.

One or more of UEs 309, 310 or 311 may also be a dual-SIM deviceregistered with both a home MNO and private cellular network without theMNO necessarily having a roaming arrangement in place with the privatecellular network. In another example, any one or more of UEs 309, 310 or311 may be a subscriber of an MNO being part of a MOCN with privatecellular network of the present disclosure. All such UEs may beconsidered valid UEs (which may also be referred to as a valid source ofa data packet) that may access private cellular network of the presentdisclosure and have core router of the private cellular network service(route) their respective inbound/outbound voice and data traffic.

Accordingly and while example embodiments are primarily described withreference to a roaming UE with a home MNO that has an active roamingagreement in place with the provider of private cellular network of thepresent application, as an example of a valid UE, the present disclosureis not limited thereto. A valid UE may also be a dual-SIM UE or a UE ofa subscriber with an MNO that is part of a MOCN with the privatecellular network. Similarly, the present disclosure may frequently referto services provided by the private cellular network and edge corerouter 308 to a valid UE as roaming services. Such services are notlimited to roaming services commonly referred to in the relevant art butmay also include secondary/auxiliary LTE services. Accordingly, servicesprovided by private cellular network of the present disclosure may bereferred to as complimentary (and/or secondary or auxiliary) cellularservices.

Edge core router 308 may be coupled to edge EPC 312 (e.g., via a S1 LTEconnection shown in FIG. 3). In example of FIG. 3, edge EPC 312 alsoprovides IMS services described above. Edge EPC 312 may be configured tomanage user plane traffic of private cellular users (e.g., userequipment and connected endpoints of enterprise network 313 for whichthe private cellular network serves as a home cellular serviceprovider). Edge EPC 312 may interface with enterprise Local Area Network(LAN) 314 to handoff user plane traffic to enterprise network 313 (withlayer 3/layer 2 option). An example connection between edge EPC 312 andenterprise network 313 may be via a SGi interface/connection as shown inFIG. 3. Enterprise network 313 may include enterprise equipment anddevices such as enterprise LAN 314 and enterprise PBX 315 describedabove.

Site component 304 may further include a firewall 316 that interfaceswith access point 306, edge core router 308, edge EPC 312, with accesspoint 306 and components of enterprise network 313. As shown in FIG. 3,firewall 316 may interface with access point 306 via a dedicated S1interface. Firewall 316 may interface with edge core router 308 viaanother dedicated S1 connection and Simple Network Management Protocol(SNMP) protocol. Firewall 316 may interface with edge EPC 312 via S6aand S8 connections and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).Furthermore, firewall 316 may be connected to enterprise LAN 314 via aSGi connection.

Backend component 302 may be communicatively connected to site component304 via any known or to be developed secure communication medium such asa secure VPN connection 318.

Backend component 302 may include a backbone 320 and communicativelycoupled to one or more cloud based servers (may be geographicallydistributed) and may be proprietary or provided via third partyproviders of private/public/hybrid cloud infrastructure. Any one or moreof such cloud based servers may be a HSS server 322 configured toauthenticate SIM cards associated with the private cellular network(e.g., a SIM card activate in UE 310) and/or a SIM card of an MNO withan associated UE roaming on the private cellular network at the customersite shown in FIG. 3 and similarly described in FIG. 2. Another one ofsuch servers may be a cloud EPC 324. Cloud EPC 324 may function todirect home traffic originating from one site component such as sitecomponent 304 to another site component of the same private cellularnetwork. For example, an organization may have offices in multiplecities, all of which may be operating on enterprise network 313. Sitecomponent 304 of the private cellular network may be deployed at eachone of the multiple offices. Accordingly, local cellular traffic fromone site component 304 at one of the offices may be directed to theprivate cellular network deployed at another office via cloud EPC 324.

Backend component 302 may also include an IP Multimedia Service (IMS)325 for communicating/processing requests for IMS services toappropriate IMS processing components of home networks. IMS 325 may alsoprocess/forward requests for emergency services (e.g., 911 services) toappropriate providers of such services such as emergency services 327.

Backend component 302 may further include an additional server 326 thatmay be referred to as Network Operation Center (NOC) 326 configured tomanage operation of the private cellular network ecosystem and provideNaaS services described above and services such as network monitoring,customer service, etc.

Backbone 320 may be communicatively coupled to HSS 322 via an S6aconnection, to cloud EPC 324 via an S1 interface, to IMS 325 via anyknown or to be developed communication scheme/protocol and to NOC 326via an SNMP protocol.

As also shown in FIG. 3, backbone 320 may be connected/communicativelycoupled to multiple MNOs. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of threedifferent MNOs, each of which has a corresponding MNO EPC from among thethree examples of MNO EPCs 328. Each MNO EPC from MNO EPCs 328 mayoptionally have a corresponding MNO IMS from among MNO IMSs 330 shown inFIG. 3. Alternatively, multiple MNO EPCs 328 may share a common MNO IMS330. A combination of one MNO EPC 328 and one MNO IMS 330 may bereferred to as an MNO.

Furthermore, each MNO EPC 328 may be communicatively coupled to a celltower such as cell tower 307. While FIG. 3 illustrates a single celltower 307, each MNO may have a separate cell tower similar to cell tower307 to which it is communicatively coupled. In the non-limiting exampleof FIG. 3, a single tower 307 may be shared by all MNOs formed by MNOEPCs 328 and MNO IMSs 330.

Cell tower 307 is intended to provide cellular and voice data coverageto one or more subscribers such as UEs 309, 310 and/or 311. However, forvarious reasons, such coverage may be limited or unavailable to UEs 309,310 and/or 311. For example, coverage of a given MNO may be weak orotherwise not allowed inside the geographical location (customer site)in which the enterprise LAN 314 and the private cellular network isdeployed, hence a corresponding one of UEs 309, 310 or 311 may beoperating as a guest device on the private cellular network.

A given MNO comprised of one of MNO EPCs 328 and optionally one of MNOIMSs 330 may operate as home network of one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 309,310 and 310) roaming on the private cellular network provided by backendcomponent 302 and site component 304 at the customer site (e.g., becausecoverage of the home network within the site in which the privatecellular network is deployed, may be suboptimal (less than a thresholdcoverage)). Connection between backbone 320 and MNO networks 328 may bevia any known or to be developed communication link such as roaminglinks (S8 interface) and IPX connections.

With example overview and structure of a private cellular networkdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 1-3, one or more exampleprocesses will be described with reference to FIGS. 4-7 according towhich a core router of a private cellular network deployed at a customersite (e.g., an edge site) monitors, manages and routes network trafficto in-network and out-network (e.g., home MNOs of roaming devices)destinations.

FIG. 4 is a visual representation of an example traffic routing via corerouter of a private cellular network, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. Elements in FIG. 4 that are the same as theircorresponding counterpart in FIG. 3 are numbered the same as in FIG. 3and will not be further described for sake of brevity. For example, HSS322 in FIG. 4 is the same as HSS 322 in FIG. 3 and will not be furtherdescribed with reference to FIG. 4.

In ecosystem 400 of FIG. 4 and in comparison with FIG. 3, UE 310 may bea guest/roaming device that is roaming on/using services of privatecellular network provided by backend component 302 and site component304 at the customer site, as described above. Such guest UE 310 may be asubscriber of an MNO associated with one of MNO EPCs 328 and one of IMSs330. Coverage of MNO 328 may be weak or otherwise not allowed inside theconfined geographical location of the customer site in which theenterprise LAN 314 and the private cellular network is deployed, hencewhy UE 310 may be operating as a guest device on the private cellularnetwork.

As shown in FIG. 4, an example cellular (e.g., LTE) data call may beoriginated from UE 310 that is routed first to edge core router 308. Byexamining header information associated with data packets received fromthe guest UE 310, edge core router 308 may determine that the data callis to be routed to one of MNO EPCs 328 of the home MNO of UE 310. Inthis particular example, it is assumed that MNO EPC 402 and MNO IMS 404form the home MNO of UE 310. As will be described below, edge corerouter 308 determines that UE 310 is a valid source of the data call(e.g., home MNO of UE 310 has an active agreement in place with operatorof private cellular network at the customer site) and thus routes thedata packets to backend component 302 to be forwarded to appropriate oneof MNO EPCs 328 (in this example MNO EPC 402). The routing of the packetis shown via line 406. As shown, after edge core router 308 identifiesMNO EPC 402 as the destination for data call packets received from UE310, the packets are routed to cloud EPC 324 via firewall 316, VPNconnection 318 and backbone 320, where cloud EPC 324 routes the packetsto MNO EPC 402. Given the active agreement between home MNO of UE 310and the private cellular network, UE 310 may be considered a validsource of the received data packet.

In another example, UE 309 is also a guest device attempting to roam onprivate cellular network provided at site component 304. However, homeMNO of UE 309 may not have a roaming agreement in place with operator ofthe private cellular network at the customer site or may have had aroaming agreement that is now expired. Accordingly and upon receiving adata packet from UE 309, edge core router 308 may determine that UE 309does not have permission or is not authorized to use private cellularnetwork at the customer site (for example, edge core router 308 may beprovisioned with proper information for which UEs are valid or not suchas UEs having MNOs with valid roaming agreement, dual-SIM UEs, UEs withMNOs utilizing a MOCN with private cellular network, as describedabove). Therefore, edge core router 308 may drop data packets receivedfrom UE 309. In this example and given no active roaming agreementbetween home MNO of UE 309 and the private cellular network, UE 309 maybe considered an invalid source of the received data packet.

In another example, UE 311 may be a registered device of enterprisenetwork 313, which is another example of a valid source/UE of thereceived data packet. Accordingly, when edge core router 308 receives adata packet from UE 311, edge core router 308 may send the data packetto enterprise LAN 314 to be forwarded to intended destination onenterprise network 313 (e.g., one of PBX devices of enterprise PBX 315).Furthermore, private cellular network at the customer siteprovides/extends cellular services (cellular voice and data services) toUE 311. Such cellular services may be LTE data service for UE 311placing a video call to an external destination (outside enterprisenetwork 313)

FIG. 5 is a visual representation of an example traffic routing via corerouter of a private cellular network, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. Elements in FIG. 5 that are the same as theircorresponding counterpart in FIGS. 3 and 4 are numbered the same as inFIGS. 3 and 4 and will not be further described for sake of brevity.

In describing FIG. 4, an example was described where a data packet isreceived at edge core router 308, from UE 310. In that example, it wasassumed that UE 310 is a valid source of the data packet (e.g., home MNOof UE 310 has an active roaming agreement in place with private cellularnetwork at the customer site). FIG. 5 describes a non-limiting example,where a data packet or a call received at edge core router 308 from UE310 is an IMS request (e.g., an emergency VoLTE call) such that the datapacket or the call should be routed to MNO IMS 404. This routing isshown by line 502.

In another example, a home MNO may have multiple dedicated EPCs and IMSsfor different categories of endpoints and subscribers. For example, anMNO provider may have a dedicated/prioritized core network for firstresponders subscribed thereto. Such EPC may have high redundancy (highreliability) but less processing capabilities. In another example, anMNO provider may also have a dedicated/prioritized core network fordesignated groups of commercial subscribers that should be prioritizedover non-commercial subscribers.

In another example, a given MNO may have multiple EPCs for differenttypes of incoming data. For example, UE 310 may be an IoT device andthus processing of the transmitted data may not require high processingcapacity. Accordingly, for data originating from IoTs, edge core router308 is configured to identify such origin and route it to a differentEPC of home MNO of UE 310 than one to which data originating from anon-IoT UE (e.g., a mobile device) is forwarded.

In example of FIG. 5, UE 310 may be a prioritized commercial subscriberof its home MNO and/or may be associated with first responder group ofits home MNO. Accordingly, by analyzing header of an emergency datapacket received from UE 310, edge core router 308 routes the data packetto MNO EPC 404.

While FIG. 5 describes multiple different examples, each example isdescribed in the context of receiving a data packet from a single UE. Inanother example, edge core router 308 may receive multiple data packetsfrom multiple different UEs, some of which are from valid sources(having home MNOs with active agreements with private cellular networkat customer site), some of which are invalid sources (having home MNOswith no active agreements with private cellular network at customersite) and some of which are devices associated with enterprise network313 at customer site (also considered valid sources). Edge core router308 is capable of simultaneously processing all received packets and (1)send each valid data packet to an EPC or IMS of a corresponding home MNOor to emergency services 327, (2) drop data packets from invalid sourcesand (3) forward data packets from sources associated with enterprisenetwork 313 to enterprise LAN 314.

FIG. 6 is a visual representation of an example traffic routing via corerouter of a private cellular network, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. Elements in FIG. 6 that are the same as theircorresponding counterpart in FIGS. 3-5 are numbered the same as in FIGS.3-5 and will not be further described for sake of brevity.

In ecosystem 600 of FIG. 6, network traffic originating from guest UE310 (assumed to be a subscriber of an MNO having an active roamingagreement with private cellular network at customer site) may be anemergency call (e.g., a 911 call for emergency assistance). In anotherexample, such emergency call may be from a home UE such as UE 311 (notshown in FIG. 6), which should be similarly processed and forwarded toemergency services 327. By examining header information associated withdata packets received from the guest UE 310, edge core router 308 maydetermine that the emergency call is to be routed to emergency services327 (emergency services provider 327). The routing of the packet isshown via line 602. As shown, after edge core router 308 identifiesemergency services 327 as the destination for voice call packetsreceived from UE 310, the packets are routed to cloud EPC 324 viafirewall 316, VPN connection 318 and backbone 320, where cloud EPC 324routes the packets to IMS component 325 to be forwarded to emergencyservices 327 or more specifically to a call/control center of emergencyservices 327.

FIG. 7 illustrates a path taken between a UE placing an emergency calland an emergency service provider, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure.

Ecosystem 700 includes three main components, namely private cellularnetwork 702, an Emergency Service Router (ESR) 704 (intermediary serviceprovider 704) and a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) 706.

Private cellular network 702 can be the same as example private cellularnetworks described above with reference to FIGS. 1-6 (e.g., privatecellular network formed of backend component 302 and site component 304in FIG. 3). ESR 704 may be an intermediate provider that receivesemergency service requests from a user on a network (e.g., a UE onprivate cellular network 702), determines location information of a UEfrom which an emergency service request is received and forwards thesame to PSAP 706. PSAP 706 can be any known or to be established servicethat responds to emergency calls and requests by dispatching firstresponders and/or emergency service providers to the location of the UEfrom which an emergency call is received.

Private cellular network 702 includes an example UE 708, edge corerouter 710, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 712, a Session BorderController (SBC) 714 and a Proxy/Emergency Call Session Control Function(P/E-CSCF) 716. UE 708 can be the same as any one or more of UEs 309,310 and 311 of FIG. 3. Edge core router 710 can be the same as edge corerouter 308 of FIG. 3. Private cellular network 702 may be operationalwithin a confined geographical location such as sites 116, 118 and/or206 of FIGS. 1 and 2 (e.g., a building, a warehouse, a commercialcomplex, etc.)

MME 712, SBC 714 and P/E-CSCF 716 maybe functionalities that reside inedge EPC of private cellular network 702 that can be the same as edgeEPC 312 of FIG. 3 and/or backend component of private cellular network702 that can be the same as backend component 302 of FIG. 3.

MME 712 can be an LTE network component responsible for tracking andpaging procedures and controlling the corresponding signaling between aUE and its serving cell (e.g., edge core router 710 of private cellularnetwork 702) for data-packet exchanges. SBC 714 is a network elementdeployed to protect Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) based Voice over IP(VoIP) networks.

SBC 714 is a network element deployed to protect Session InitiatedProtocol (SIP) based Voice over IP (VoIP) networks.

P/E-CSCF 716 can provide control function in the IP Multimedia Subsystem(IMS) Core Network (e.g., edge EPC+IMS 312 or IMS 325 of FIG. 3) to setup, establish, modify, and tear down multimedia sessions. P/E-CSCF 716is an edge access function and can be the entry point for UE 708 torequest services from edge EPC+IMS 312 or IMS 325. P/E-CSCF 716 canfunction as a proxy by accepting incoming requests and forwarding themto an entity that can service such request. The incoming requests can bean initial registration, an invitation for a multimedia session or anemergency request. P/E-CSCF 716 can also perform some important edgefunctions such as maintaining a secure association with UE 708,compression of SIP signaling to minimize latency for an over the airinterface, providing policy function by initiating support for IP flowcontrol and authorization of traffic-bearer resources.

While private cellular network 702 is illustrated in FIG. 7 as includinga single UE 708 and a single edge core router 710, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto and private cellular network 702 mayinclude more than one UE 708 and more than one edge core router 710.Furthermore, components of private cellular network 702 are not limitedto those shown in FIG. 7 and may include any other known or to bedeveloped component for the operation thereof such as those describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1-6. Moreover, private cellular network702 can be any one of a 4G, LTE and/or a 5G network. Accordingly,components thereof such as MME 712, SBC 714 and/or P/E-CSCF 716 may bemodified or replaced to conform to core network components of a 4G, LTEand/or a 5G network.

A network of ESR 704 can have components including, but not limited to,Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) 718, Gateway MobileLocation Center (GMLC) 720 and SBC 722.

E-SMLC 718 can reside in a base station controller of ESR 704 and cancalculate network-based location of mobile stations requesting emergencyservices (e.g., UE 708). E-SMLC 718 can control several LocationMeasurement Units (LMUs), which can measure radio signals to help findUE 708 in an area served by E-SMLC 718.

GMLC 720 can provide functionalities required for location basedservices.

SBC 722 is a network element deployed to protect Session InitiatedProtocol (SIP) based Voice over IP (VoIP) networks.

While several example components are described above with reference toESR 704, components of network of ESR 704 are not limited to thosedescribed with reference to FIG. 7 and may include any other known or tobe developed component/functionality for the operation of ESR 704.

PSAP 706 can include a number of terminals 724 for receiving emergencycalls. Such terminals can be any type of known or to be developed deviceincluding, but not limited to, mobile devices, desktop computers,laptops, handheld tablets, etc. PSAP 706 can include any other known orto be developed components for the operation of PSAP 706 network.

In instances where a private cellular network such as private cellularnetwork 702 is not available (e.g., instead UE 708 is connected to acarrier's network such as one of MNOs described above with reference toFIGS. 1-6), the following sequence of events take place when UE 708places an emergency call.

The sequence starts with UE 708 placing an emergency call (e.g., dialing911). The call is routed via a base station (e.g., an LTE base station,a 5G eNode-B, etc., such as cell tower 307 of FIG. 3) to an MME of thecarrier's network. The MME 712 may then communicate the emergency callto GMLC 720 of ESR 704 (e.g., via an SLg-diameter interface). GMLC 720may then determine an approximate location of UE 708 according to anyknown or to be developed method. For example, GMLC 720 can request theMME to obtain location information from E-SMLC 718 (e.g., via aSLS-diameter interface) and forward the same to GMLC 720. E-SMLC 718 maydetermine the location of UE 708 based on location information receivedfrom UE 708's serving base station. Once the approximate location of UE708 is determined, GMCL 718 can forward the emergency request toterminal 724 of PSAP 706 (e.g., via an E2 interface).

If UE 708 is inside a confined geographical location such as a building,the exact location of UE 708 inside the building cannot be determinedand thus emergency service providers/first responders may not be able toreach/attend to the underlying emergency situation as fast as possible.

However, with UE 708 connected to private cellular network 702 withinsuch confined geographical location, information regarding exactlocation of UE 708 within the confined geographical location can becommunicated to GMLC 720 and subsequently to PSAP 706 in order to allowfirst/emergency responders to determine the exact location of theemergency and attend to the emergency in a more efficient and fastermanner.

FIG. 8 illustrates an ecosystem of a private cellular networkinterconnected with emergency call services, according to an aspect ofthe present disclosure.

In environment 800, a UE 802 may connect to access point 804. UE 802 canbe the same as any one of UEs 309, 310, or 311 of FIG. 3. Access point804 may be the same as access point 306 of FIG. 3 or any other accesspoint for enabling UE 802 to connect to a private cellular network suchas private cellular networks described above with reference to FIGS.1-8. Access point 804 may be communicatively coupled (through wired orwireless means) to edge core router 806. While FIG. 8 illustrates asingle access point 804 connected to edge core router 806, there may bemore than one access point connected to the same edge core router 806.For example, multiple access points on different floors of the samebuilding may be connected to the same edge core router 806.

Edge core router 806 may be the same as edge core router 308 of FIG.306. FIG. 8 illustrates some of the inner logics and components of edgecore router 806 configured to enable edge core router 806 to performrouting and managing voice and data exchange between end connected UEsand corresponding destinations, such as that described above withreference to FIGS. 1-7. Such voice and data exchanges may be foremergency call services.

As will be described below with reference to FIG. 9, a call request maybe initiated by UE 802. Once the call request reaches edge core router806 via access point 804, edge core router 806 determines whether thecall request is an emergency call request (e.g. based on the format ofthe incoming call request defined for emergency call services in the3GPP standards, such as a Voice over LTE (VoLTE) with an emergency (SOS)bearer). This determination may be performed at S1 server 806-1 of edgecore router 806. Once edge core router 806 determines that the callrequest is an emergency call request, edge core router 806 determines,using S1 server 806-1, whether the edge core router 806 and the privatecellular network of which edge core router 806 is a component, cansupport emergency call services. For example, edge core router 806 candetermine that the private cellular network can support emergency callservices if the S1 Client links in edge core router 806 are configuredto support emergency call services or not. If they are configured tosupport emergency call services, then edge core router 806 sends amessage back to access point 804, in which a flag for supportingemergency call services is set to active (e.g., 1). For example, the tagcan be emc_bs=1 that is sent to access point 804 over S1 link betweenaccess point 804 and edge core router 806. Otherwise, the value of thetag emc_bs is set to zero (0).

Thereafter, using logic 806-2, edge core router 806 determines where toroute the call service originating from UE 802. If the call service isan emergency call request (as described above and shown as S1 ClientEmergency=Yes with a corresponding

Edge core router 806 also if private cellular network of which edge corerouter 806 is a component can service emergency For example, edge corerouter 806 may have logics for identified an incoming call request asbeing an emergency call request or not. This may be, for example, an S1link between access point 804 to which UE 802 is connected. This S1 linkcan carry a call request with a corresponding tag for emergency calls(e.g., a tag for emc_bs), which if set equal to one (1), would indicatethat the incoming call request from UE 802 is an emergency call request.

Edge core router 806 may determine if an incoming call request is anemergency call request or not (e.g., by determining the value (0 or 1)for the emc_bs tag in the incoming request). For example, an S1 server806-1 analyzes the incoming call request by running logic 806-2. If acall is determined not to be an emergency call request (S1 ClientEmergency=No), edge core router 806 routes the call to a non-emergencyenabled EPC 808 using UE 802's PLMN. Non-emergency enabled EPC 808 maybe the same as edge EPC 312 of FIG. 3 or cloud EPC 324 of FIG. 3 forserving call requests originating from connected UE 802.

If the call is determined to be an emergency call request (S1 ClientEmergency=Yes), edge core router 806 routes the call request to anemergency enabled EPC with the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)identifier of UE 802. Otherwise, edge core router 806 routes the callrequest to a non-emergency enabled EPC with the corresponding PLMN of UE802. Emergency and non-emergency enabled EPCs will be described below.

In FIG. 8, edge core router 806 also includes an analytics component806-3 and connection event log generator 806-4. Analytics component806-3 may be used to collect various Key Performance Indications (KPIs)for UEs connected to and serviced by edge core router 806 such as theidentify and subscription information of each connected UE, data usageby each connected UE, etc.

Connection event log generator 806-4 records (logs) informationindicative of which radio (e.g., access point 804) the UE is connectedto. The connectivity information recorded by connection event loggenerator 806-4 (possibly in conjunction with KPIs recorded by analyticscomponent 806-3) may be used to populate a database known as subscriberlocation database, that will ultimately be used by an emergency serviceprovider to obtain exact location of UE 802, when UE 802 places anemergency call request. This will be further described below.

Environment 800 illustrates a non-emergency enabled EPC 808 and anemergency enabled EPC 810. Non-emergency enabled EPC 808 may be the sameas edge EPC 312 of FIG. 3. For example, when UE 802 is registered withedge core router 806 as a “home” device where edge core router 806 andits corresponding edge EPC function as UE 802's “home” site component,then non-emergency enabled EPC 808 is the “home” edge EPC that iscommunicatively coupled with (and may even be in the same physicallocation) as edge core router 806. Non-emergency enabled EPC 808 andemergency enabled EPC 812 may be LTE EPCs or may alternatively be 5GEPCs.

In another example, when UE 802 is a visiting device connected to edgecore router 806, the non-emergency enabled EPC can be UE 802's home edgeEPC at another location that may be accessed via cloud EPC 324, asdescribed above. Non-emergency enabled EPC 808, as described above,provides connectivity for UE 802 to its home enterprise network 810 thatmay be the same as enterprise network 313 (comprise of an enterprise LANsuch as enterprise LAN 314, enterprise PBX 315, etc.).

Emergency enabled EPC 812 may be the same as cloud EPC 324 and IMS 814may be the same as core IMS 325 described above with reference to FIGS.3-6. Functioning together, emergency enabled EPC 812 and IMS 814, mayroute an emergency call request originating from UE 802 to emergencynetwork 815. Emergency network 815 may be the same as ESR 704 of FIG. 7and can include (Be communicatively coupled to) components such as GMLC816, E-SMLC 818 and local PSAP 820. GMLC 816 may be the same GMLC 720 ofFIG. 7, E-SMLC 818 may be the same as E-SMLC 718 of FIG. 7, and localPSAP 820 may be the same as PSAP terminal 724 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 also illustrates that environment 800 includes a private locationengine 822. Private location engine 822 and the components thereof, mayfunction to provide to PSAP terminal 820 as granular detail as availableon the location of UE 802 from which the emergency call request isoriginated. In one example, a component such as GMLC 816 may directlyinterface with private location engine 822 or may request MME ofemergency enabled EPC 812 to communicate with private location engine822 to provide detailed location information of UE 802 within thephysical area in which UE 802 is connected to edge core router 806(e.g., identify as granular detail as available such as building, floorinformation, room number, etc., as described above).

Private location engine 822 has several components including celllocation database 822-1, subscriber location database 822-2 and locationdelivery engine 822-3. Private location engine 822 may be implemented,maintained and operated as part of the private cellular networkdescribed in this disclosure.

Cell location database 822-1 can include information such as latitudeand longitude of each access point such as access point 804 that is partof the private cellular network and/or any other access point that iseither an access point of an MNO to which UE 802 can attach or an accesspoint of another private cellular network provider. In addition to orinstead of latitude and longitude information, cell location database822-1 can include descriptive information (text) describing a locationof each access point (e.g., street number, building name, floor name ornumber, room name or number, etc.). In some examples, cell locationdatabase 822-1 may be populated by edge core router 806 (e.g., when anaccess point such as access point 804 is attached to and registered withedge core router 806), through external cell database 824 that includesinformation gathered about location of access points such as accesspoint manufacturer (or a party that installs the access point), througha Spectrum Allocation Server (SAS) database 826. In some examples, aplatform enabling trade or exchange of wireless connectivity servicesamong private cellular service providers and/or MNO providers may exist.This platform is trade platform 828 shown in FIG. 8. Trade platform 828may be a distributed ledger system on which each private cellularprovider or MNO (and/or alternatively each site component of a privatecellular network) can have a node. Trade platform 828 can pull detailedinformation and frequency data on access point locations from sourcessuch as external cell database 824 and/or SAS database 826, correlatethe collected cell information (e.g., using cell location aggregator828-1) and populate cell location database 822-1 with the cellinformation.

In some examples, the type of information stored in subscriber locationdatabase 822-2 is an association between an access point and a UEattached thereto. For example, when a voice or call data request comesin from UE 802 via access point 804, connection log generator 806-4records the associated between UE 802 and access point 804. Thisassociation is stored in subscriber location database 822-2. Celllocation database 822-1 can then be queried to retrieve information onthe location of access point 804 (in as granular detail as available).

Location delivery engine 822-3 of private location engine 822 may be aprogrammatic interface to which API calls may be made either by GMLC816, MME of emergency enabled EPC 812, etc. to query (or receive a pushnotification) for the location of UE 802 when an emergency call requestis received from UE 802. Location delivery engine 822-3 may useinformation from cell location database 822-1 and subscriber locationdatabase 822-2 to obtain as granular detail as available on the location(e.g., latitude, longitude, description of location information, etc.)of the access point to which UE 802 is attached.

Accordingly, the configuration of FIG. 8 ensures that very specificlocation information of a UE connected to private cellular network ofFIG. 8 be conveyed to an emergency service provider, allowing emergencyhelp to reach a user of the UE as fast as possible.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method of acquisition and exchange of location datawith an emergency call center using a private cellular network,according to an aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 8 but may equally be applicable to anddescribed with reference to FIG. 7.

At S900, edge core router 806 receives a request for placing anemergency call (e.g., a 911 call request). The emergency call may beplaced by a user associated with UE 802 (e.g., by dialing 911 on UE802). The request may be a VoLTE with an emergency bearer as describedabove.

At S902, edge core router 806 determines if the private cellular networkand edge core router 806 can service emergency call requests. Asdescribed above, edge core router 806 determines if S1 links areconfigured to support emergency call services or not.

At S904 and after determining that emergency call services aresupported, edge core router 806 generates an emergency request messageto be forwarded to emergency service network 815 via emergency enabledEPC 812 and IMS 814, as described above. The format of the emergencyrequest message can be compatible with any type of known or to bedeveloped protocol to be used in communications between edge core router710 and MME 712 (e.g., using S1 interface).

At S906, edge core router 806 sends the emergency request message toemergency service provider via emergency service network 815.

At S908, a specific location for UE 802 is determined. As describedabove, this determination may be based on an exchange of (communicationof) information between private location engine 822 and the networkelement/component making the query (e.g., GMLC 816, MME of emergencyenabled EPC 812, etc.). An example of such exchange includes a query ofcell location database 822-1 and subscriber location database 822-2 ofprivate location engine 822 by the network element/component, where, forexample GMLC 816 or MME of emergency enabled EPC 812 send an API call tolocation delivery engine 822-3 of private location engine 822. Inanother example, the communication can be in the form of a push fromlocation delivery engine 822-3 to the network element/component. Thispush can be in response to a request for UE specific locationinformation from the network element/component.

The present disclosure provides a number of approaches for determiningthe specific location for a UE such as UE 802.

One approach is associating the UE with specific location information ofthe access point to which the UE is attached. As mentioned above, anaccess point such as access point 804 may be installed in a confinedspace such as a building, a particular floor of a building, particularroom(s) on a given floor of a building, a warehouse, a commercialestablishment such as a mall, a store, a grocery store, etc.

In one example, there may be multiple access points such as access point804 of FIG. 8 installed throughout the geographical location in whichprivate cellular network has coverage. Each such access point may havelocation information associated with it. Such location information caninclude, but is not limited to, a latitude/longitude information, abuilding identifier (e.g., among several buildings in a campus coveredby private cellular network), a floor identifier in a building, a roomnumber (room identifier) on a given floor in the building, an identifierof an area in a building or a warehouse (e.g., storage area in awarehouse, a delivery area in a warehouse, etc.).

Access point location information can be in the form of a numericalrepresentation (e.g., Building 1, floor 2, room 504), latitude,longitude, and/or height above the ground of the location of accesspoint 804 inside the geographical location, a description of thelocation information (e.g., Lincoln Tower, floor 5, Jefferson conferenceroom), etc.

Descriptive information and/or geolocation information of access point804 may be stored in cell location database 822-1. Geolocationinformation of access point 804 can include latitude and longitude aswell as height above ground information of where the access point 804 isinstalled. Upon receiving a request for UE specific location (either aquery or a request for a push, as described above), location deliveryengine 822-3 identifies the corresponding UE for which the specificlocation information is requested (e.g., UE 802) and the access point towhich it is connected by querying the subscriber location database822-2. Once the access point to which the UE is identified (e.g., accesspoint 804), cell location database 822-1 is queried to retrieve andcorrelate specific information on the location of the access point(e.g., access point 804) with the location of the UE (e.g., UE 802).This information can include latitude, longitude, height above ground,and/or descriptive information about the location access point 804 suchas building name, building number, floor name, floor number, room name,room number, etc. That information will then be relayed in a messageback to the requesting entity/component, which can be GMLC 816, MME ofEPC 812, etc.

Another approach would be a triangulation approach. Int his example,access points installed throughout a building may have built-intriangulation functionalities. When a UE such as UE 802 attached to anearby access point such as access point 804, two or more additionalaccess points near UE 802 may emit and receive signals from UE 802 basedon which signal strength of UE 802 relative to access point 804 andother nearby (e.g., two more) access points are measured. This approachcan further refine the location of UE 802 to provide a more detaileddescription of UE 802's location. For example, while UE 802 may beconnected to access point 806 installed in conference room #1 on the8^(th) floor of building A, in reality UE 802 may be located inconference room #2. With two or more access points located nearby (e.g.,one in a hallway connecting conference rooms #1 and #2 and anotheraccess point in another room adjacent to conference room #2,triangulation and signal strength measurement may be utilized todetermine that UE 802 is located in conference room #2, on the 8^(th)floor of building A.

Another approach would be multiple beacons may be deployed throughout aconfined location (e.g., a building) in which the private cellularnetwork of the present disclosure is deployed (e.g., the location inwhich the site component of the private cellular network includingaccess point 804, edge core router 806, and corresponding edge EPC aredeployed). As UE 802 travels and moves around the location, UE 802 canreceive signals from the nearby installed beacons and report those toedge core router 806. After receiving each (or every set number) ofsignals from UE 802, edge core router 806 can record a connection eventlog (similar to recording connection event log described above withreference to 806-4 of FIG. 8). This connection event log may then bestored in subscriber location database 822-2. This information may beused in conjunction with or in place of association between UE 802 andaccess point 806 to determine the specific location of the UE. In thisexample, cell location database 822-1 can include information onspecific locations of the beacons just as it would include informationon specific location of access points (e.g., latitude, longitude, heightabove ground, descriptive information of location of the beacons, etc.).As described above, cell location database 822-1 and subscriber locationdatabase 822-2 can be used in conjunction to determine the specificlocation of UE 802 based on reported beacon signals and beaconlocations.

Another approach would be the deployed of low-cost receivers throughoutthe confined location in which the private cellular network of thepresent disclosure is deployed. The deployment of these low-costreceivers may be the same as the beacons described above. The low-costreceivers can continuously (or periodically) listen to signals emittedfrom a nearby UE and convey the same to a server (e.g., a server insideprivate location engine 822 or alternatively a server inside edge corerouter 806). The server, knowing the location of each installed low-costreceiver (e.g., latitude, longitude, height above ground, descriptiveinformation of location of each receiver, etc.) can calculate theprecise location of UE 802 and report that to emergency serviceproviders when queried (or through a push when requested).

While a number of different approaches are described above for determinea specific location of a UE such as UE 802, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. Any other known or to be developed method that canprovide details of the specific location of a UE within an area coveredby a network may be utilized with such details including latitude,longitude, height above ground, descriptive information of the UE, etc.

Furthermore, each of the approaches outlined above may be usedseparately or in conjunction with other approaches. For example, alocation of a UE may be determined using the specific locationinformation of the access point, using triangulation, using installedbeacons, and/or using low-cost receivers. The result from each utilizedapproach may be used to further refine and narrow the specific locationof the UE. For example, one approach may result in only determining thebuilding and the floor (e.g., building A, floor 8) on which the UE islocated (e.g., using the location of the access point). Another approach(e.g., using triangulation) may reveal that the UE is located in aconference room (#22) on the 8th floor. A third approach (e.g., usingbeacons) can reveal that the UE is on the floor underneath a desk at theback of the conference room #22. Accordingly, the three approaches maybe combined to identify for the requesting entity that the UE is on thefloor behind a desk at the back of conference room #22 on the 8^(th)floor of building A. In another example, each approach may result in aslightly different determination of the exact location of a UE (e.g.,different conference rooms, floors, etc.). Accordingly, the results ofthe different approaches may be combined to deduce as precise of alocation of the subject UE (e.g., UE 802) as possible. In anotherapproach, private location engine 822 may train and utilize a predictivemodel (e.g., a machine learning model) that can take various inputs(e.g., as broad as a country, state, city, zip code, etc.) to asdetailed as building/floor/room names and numbers and output a specificlocation thus resolving any possible inconsistencies in the outcome ofdifferent approaches used for determining UE specific locations.

Once a specific location of a UE is determined (e.g., for UE 802) asdescribed above with reference to S908, the process proceeds to S910,where the determined UE specific location information is provided to therequesting network element/component (e.g., GMLC 816, MME of EPC 812,etc.) so that relevant emergency service providers can provideappropriate emergency services to the precise location of UE 802 is asefficient and timely manner as possible.

Referring back to S902, if edge core router 806 determines thatemergency services are not supported by the private cellular network andedge core router 806, at S912 a message is sent to UE 802 from edge corerouter 806 indicating the same (e.g., by setting flag emc_bs=1, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 8), allowing UE 802 to find the nearestaccess point (which may not be an access point associated with theprivate cellular network) to route an emergency call requesttherethrough.

With various examples of traffic management and routing at a core routerof a private enterprise network deployed at a site described above, thedisclosure now turns to description of several example system componentsand architectures that can be utilized to function as any one or morecomponents of ecosystems described above such as edge core router 308,metro core router 124, etc.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate systems according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. The more appropriate system will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art when practicing the variousembodiments. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will also readilyappreciate that other systems are possible.

FIG. 10A illustrates an example of a bus computing system 1000 whereinthe components of the system are in electrical communication with eachother using a bus 1005. The computing system 1000 can include aprocessing unit (CPU or processor) 1010 and a system bus 1005 that maycouple various system components including the system memory 1015, suchas read only memory (ROM) 1020 and random access memory (RAM) 1025, tothe processor 1010. The computing system 1000 can include a cache 1012of high-speed memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, orintegrated as part of the processor 1010. The computing system 1000 cancopy data from the memory 1015, ROM 1020, RAM 1025, and/or storagedevice 630 to the cache 1012 for quick access by the processor 1010. Inthis way, the cache 1012 can provide a performance boost that avoidsprocessor delays while waiting for data. These and other modules cancontrol the processor 1010 to perform various actions. Other systemmemory 1015 may be available for use as well. The memory 1015 caninclude multiple different types of memory with different performancecharacteristics. The processor 1010 can include any general purposeprocessor and a hardware module or software module, such as services(SVC) 1 1032, SVC 2 1034, and SVC 3 1036 stored in the storage device1030, configured to control the processor 1010 as well as aspecial-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporatedinto the actual processor design. The processor 1010 may essentially bea completely self-contained computing system, containing multiple coresor processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-coreprocessor may be symmetric or asymmetric.

To enable user interaction with the computing system 1000, an inputdevice 1045 can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as amicrophone for speech, a touch-protected screen for gesture or graphicalinput, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An outputdevice 1035 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanismsknown to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodalsystems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input tocommunicate with the computing system 1000. The communications interface1040 can govern and manage the user input and system output. There maybe no restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangementand therefore the basic features here may easily be substituted forimproved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.

The storage device 1030 can be a non-volatile memory and can be a harddisk or other types of computer readable media which can store data thatare accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges,random access memory, read only memory, and hybrids thereof.

As discussed above, the storage device 1030 can include the softwareSVCs 1032, 1034, and 1036 for controlling the processor 1010. Otherhardware or software modules are contemplated. The storage device 1030can be connected to the system bus 1005. In some embodiments, a hardwaremodule that performs a particular function can include a softwarecomponent stored in a computer-readable medium in connection with thenecessary hardware components, such as the processor 1010, bus 1005,output device 1035, and so forth, to carry out the function.

FIG. 10B illustrates an example architecture for a chipset computingsystem 1050 that can be used in accordance with an embodiment. Thecomputing system 1050 can include a processor 1055, representative ofany number of physically and/or logically distinct resources capable ofexecuting software, firmware, and hardware configured to performidentified computations. The processor 1055 can communicate with achipset 1060 that can control input to and output from the processor1055. In this example, the chipset 1060 can output information to anoutput device 1065, such as a display, and can read and writeinformation to storage device 1070, which can include magnetic media,solid state media, and other suitable storage media. The chipset 1060can also read data from and write data to RAM 1075. A bridge 1080 forinterfacing with a variety of user interface components 1085 can beprovided for interfacing with the chipset 1060. The user interfacecomponents 1085 can include a keyboard, a microphone, touch detectionand processing circuitry, a pointing device, such as a mouse, and so on.Inputs to the computing system 1050 can come from any of a variety ofsources, machine generated and/or human generated.

The chipset 1060 can also interface with one or more communicationinterfaces 1090 that can have different physical interfaces. Thecommunication interfaces 1090 can include interfaces for wired andwireless LANs, for broadband wireless networks, as well as personal areanetworks. Some applications of the methods for generating, displaying,and using the technology disclosed herein can include receiving ordereddatasets over the physical interface or be generated by the machineitself by the processor 1055 analyzing data stored in the storage device1070 or the RAM 1075. Further, the computing system 1050 can receiveinputs from a user via the user interface components 1085 and executeappropriate functions, such as browsing functions by interpreting theseinputs using the processor 1055.

It will be appreciated that computing systems 1000 and 1050 can havemore than one processor 1010 and 1055, respectively, or be part of agroup or cluster of computing devices networked together to providegreater processing capability.

For clarity of explanation, in some instances the various embodimentsmay be presented as including individual functional blocks includingfunctional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps orroutines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardwareand software.

In some example embodiments the computer-readable storage devices,mediums, and memories can include a cable or wireless signal containinga bit stream and the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as energy,carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

Methods according to the above-described examples can be implementedusing computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwiseavailable from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise,for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing device to perform a certain function or group of functions.Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network.The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, orsource code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used tostore instructions, information used, and/or information created duringmethods according to described examples include magnetic or opticaldisks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory,networked storage devices, and so on.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprisehardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety ofform factors. Some examples of such form factors include general purposecomputing devices such as servers, rack mount devices, desktopcomputers, laptop computers, and so on, or general purpose mobilecomputing devices, such as tablet computers, smart phones, personaldigital assistants, wearable devices, and so on. Functionality describedherein also can be embodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Suchfunctionality can also be implemented on a circuit board among differentchips or different processes executing in a single device, by way offurther example.

The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computingresources for executing them, and other structures for supporting suchcomputing resources are means for providing the functions described inthese disclosures.

Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explainaspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of theclaims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements insuch examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use theseexamples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further andalthough some subject matter may have been described in languagespecific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it isto be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claimsis not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. Forexample, such functionality can be distributed differently or performedin components other than those identified herein. Rather, the describedfeatures and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systemsand methods within the scope of the appended claims.

Claim language reciting “at least one of” a set indicates that onemember of the set or multiple members of the set satisfy the claim. Forexample, claim language reciting “at least one of A and B” means A, B,or A and B.

What is claimed is:
 1. A private cellular network comprising: a locationengine configured to store thereon one or more database that includespecific location information of one or more user equipment connected tothe private cellular network via a corresponding access point associatedwith the private cellular network; and at least one network elementconfigured to: receive a request for placing an emergency call from anendpoint communicatively coupled to the private cellular network;determine endpoint specific location information for the endpoint bycommunicating with the location engine of the private cellular network,the endpoint specific location information identifying location of theendpoint within a confined space in which the private cellular networkis deployed; and send the endpoint specific location information of theendpoint to an emergency service provider, the emergency serviceprovider identifying which response team to dispatch to a location ofthe endpoint based at least in part on the endpoint specific locationinformation.
 2. The private cellular network of claim 1, wherein theendpoint specific location information corresponds to an access point ofthe private cellular network to which the endpoint is communicativelycoupled.
 3. The private cellular network of claim 1, wherein theendpoint specific location information identifies at least one of abuilding, a floor of the building and a room number inside the buildingin which the endpoint is located.
 4. The private cellular network ofclaim 1, wherein the endpoint specific location information identifies alatitude, a longitude, and a height above ground of the location of theendpoint within the confined space.
 5. The private cellular network ofclaim 1, wherein the location engine includes a first database and asecond database, the first database including location information ofeach access point associated with the private cellular network, thesecond database including information on association between one or moreaccess points of the private cellular network and one or more usersconnected to the one or more access points.
 6. The private cellularnetwork of claim 5, wherein the first database is populated at least inpart using cell location data collected by a platform node associatedwith the private cellular network.
 7. The private cellular network ofclaim 6, wherein the cell location data are collected from at least oneof an external cell database that includes information on location ofaccess points and a spectrum allocation server (SAS) database.
 8. Theprivate cellular network of claim 5, wherein the second database ispopulated every time an edge core router of the private cellular networkrecords a connection log that identifies a UE in association with anaccess point.
 9. The private cellular network of claim 1, wherein thelocation engine is queries by one of a mobility management entity (MME)of an evolved packet core of the private cellular network or a componentof an emergency network.
 10. The private cellular network of claim 1,wherein the location engine is queried via an application programminginterface (API) call to a programmatic interface of the location engine.11. A system comprising: a private cellular network communicativelycoupled to an emergency service provider, the private cellular networkhaving a location engine configured to store thereon one or moredatabase that include specific location information of one or more userequipment connected to the private cellular network via a correspondingaccess point associated with the private cellular network, the specificlocation information identifying a location of a corresponding userequipment within a confined space in which the private cellular networkis deployed, the specific location information, when provided to anemergency service provider enables the emergency service provider tospecifically locate the corresponding user equipment within the confinedspace and provide requested emergency response to a user of thecorresponding user equipment; and at least one network elementconfigured to: determine endpoint specific location information for anendpoint from which an emergency call request is received, the endpointspecific location information being determined by communicating with thelocation engine of the private cellular network; and send the endpointspecific location information of the endpoint to the emergency serviceprovider.
 12. The private cellular network of claim 11, wherein theendpoint specific location information corresponds to an access point ofthe private cellular network to which the endpoint is communicativelycoupled.
 13. The private cellular network of claim 11, wherein theendpoint specific location information identifies at least one of abuilding, a floor of the building and a room number inside the buildingin which the endpoint is located.
 14. The private cellular network ofclaim 11, wherein the endpoint specific location information identifiesa latitude, a longitude, and a height above ground of the location ofthe endpoint within the confined space.
 15. The private cellular networkof claim 11, wherein the location engine includes a first database and asecond database, the first database including location information ofeach access point associated with the private cellular network, thesecond database including information on association between one or moreaccess points of the private cellular network and one or more usersconnected to the one or more access points.
 16. The private cellularnetwork of claim 15, wherein the first database is populated at least inpart using cell location data collected by a platform node associatedwith the private cellular network.
 17. The private cellular network ofclaim 16, wherein the cell location data are collected from at least oneof an external cell database that includes information on location ofaccess points and a spectrum allocation server (SAS) database.
 18. Theprivate cellular network of claim 15, wherein the second database ispopulated every time an edge core router of the private cellular networkrecords a connection log that identifies a UE in association with anaccess point.
 19. The private cellular network of claim 11, whereinemergency call request is received at an edge core router of the privatecellular network, and the at least one network element is one of amobility management entity (MME) of an evolved packet core of theprivate cellular network or a component of an emergency network.
 20. Theprivate cellular network of claim 11, wherein the location engine isqueried via an application programming interface (API) call to aprogrammatic interface of the location engine.